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Q: I am a Store Manager for a customer-service oriented business. I work 10- to 12-hours per day six days a week. I am paid a fixed salary every month. Since I am a Store Manager, my employers say I am exempt from overtime pay. I follow your column and know from your previous articles that the job title does not necessarily determine whether an employee is exempt or not. As Store Manager, I supervise some employees but I cannot hire or fire employees. I also spend a majority of my time doing the same things that these employees are doing – attending to customers and the cash register. Am I really exempt and not entitled to overtime?
A: You are correct in saying that an employee’s job title does not necessarily determine whether the employee is exempt from overtime pay. California law strictly applies the "executive exemption" or "managerial exemption" to employees. This means the laws are generally interpreted in favor of protecting employees.
One of the most important factors in determining executive exemption focuses on the employee’s actual duties. "Managers" are expected to perform "managerial duties." These duties include managing the business, hiring, firing, and disciplining employees, deciding on employee salaries and wages, and creating work policies and procedures. Simply issuing memos on work policies and procedures when these policies actually come from upper management is not enough.
Additional managerial or executive duties include:
a) planning the work;
b) determining the techniques to be used (to perform the work);
c) apportioning work among the workers;
d) directing work;
e) appraising work and efficiency for the purpose of recommending promotions or other changes in employee status;
f) handling workers’ complaints and grievances and disciplining them when necessary;
g) controlling the flow and distribution of materials or merchandise and supplies; and
h) providing for the safety of the workers and the employer’s property.
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